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Post by daniella on Dec 19, 2007 20:06:59 GMT 10
Well, I didn't know where to post, so...
Which point we are of the strike ? Wha they want ? Where do this leave us ?
Dani
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Post by manduu ♥ on Dec 19, 2007 21:28:40 GMT 10
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Post by larue on Dec 19, 2007 21:29:05 GMT 10
Two Websites which are a good source of information from the writers' side of things. There is even a pretty informative video of their wants somewhere on the first one. However, looks like nothing with negotiations is going to happen until after the holidays.... www.wgaeast.org/www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/hold-2/ |
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Post by daniella on Dec 19, 2007 22:08:13 GMT 10
Thanks for the informations, girls...  Dani |
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Post by annita on Feb 2, 2008 5:11:58 GMT 10
I just received an e-mail from a friend ... maybe we'll get a chance to see ER this season after all? I sure hope so ... I'm missing Luby.
"Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have moved closer to bridging their divide after a week of talks, raising hopes that a new contract is within reach.
The parties have narrowed the gap between them in some key areas, including how much writers should earn when films and TV shows are distributed online, according to people close to the situation who insisted on anonymity because talks are confidential.
The discussions could still derail, as they did in early December, these people cautioned. The parties remain apart over how much writers should be paid when their shows are streamed online and union jurisdiction over original content created for the Internet. Moreover, relations between the two sides have been marred by distrust and near-loathing as positions hardened in both camps.
Nonetheless, there is guarded optimism on both sides that the outlines of a deal could be reached as early as this week, paving the way for formal negotiations.
Writers and studios alike face enormous pressure to cement an accord that would end the 3-month-old strike that has cost thousands of workers their jobs and the Los Angeles economy about $1.6 billion, by one estimate. If the work stoppage continues, it will upset program development for next season and spoil the Academy Awards show Feb. 24.
Talks revived last week, after studios negotiated a contract with directors in short order. The directors won terms that were superior to those offered in the writers' previous round of negotiations.
A number of top writers, including several members of the Writers Guild of America's negotiating committee, have viewed the directors pact as a flawed but workable model for their own agreement. They have strongly conveyed that message to guild leaders David Young and Patric M. Verrone.
Citing a "press blackout," representatives of the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, declined to comment.
The guild's board of directors, which ultimately has to approve any contract, met Monday to discuss the status of negotiations. One main area of concern is a flat residual payment of $1,200 that studios gave directors for streaming their shows in the first year.
Writers fear that such a rate could one day give networks greater incentive to rerun shows online, where residuals would be a fraction of what producers currently are required to pay.
For example, writers currently earn about $20,000 when a one-hour drama is rerun on the network.
Additionally, writers have specific issues that need to be addressed that are unique to their craft. Chief among them is securing so-called separated rights to their projects, which guarantee writers additional payments and credit when their work migrates from one medium to another, such as a Web show that spawns a TV pilot.
Talks are expected to resume today."
By Richard Verrier and Claudia Eller, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
January 29, 2008
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Post by manduu ♥ on Feb 2, 2008 5:13:47 GMT 10
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Post by annita on Feb 2, 2008 6:09:10 GMT 10
Thanks and I apologize. I thought it would be acceptable to post about the strike in the thread that was called Writers Strike ... Again, sorry.
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Post by larue on Feb 3, 2008 1:28:54 GMT 10
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers began taking a more active role in the writers strike this week as a group of California Democrats led by the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee accused a pair network chiefs of dragging their feet.
Apparently it's Disney and Fox that are hanging things up. Grrr......
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jen
Luby Lover
the only thing better than hairspray
Posts: 65
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Post by jen on Feb 3, 2008 3:29:24 GMT 10
Isn't Disney the company that runs ABC?
I am so ready for this strike to end. It seems like all I've been watching on tv lately is American Idol and football. Mostly I'm just concerned about LOST. I want this strike to end soon so we can get more than just eight measly episodes before we have to suffer through another outrageously long hiatus.
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Jill
Lady of Luby
Posts: 119
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Post by Jill on Feb 3, 2008 13:06:02 GMT 10
Deal to End Writers’ Strike May Be Near
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
LOS ANGELES — Informal talks between representatives of Hollywood’s striking writers and production companies have eliminated the major roadblocks to a new contract, which could lead to a tentative agreement as early as next week, according to people who were briefed on the situation but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.
A deal would end a crippling writers strike that is now entering its fourth month.
The agreement may come without renewed formal negotiations between the television and movie writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, though both sides still need to agree on specific language of key provisions. If that process goes smoothly, an agreement may be presented to the governing boards of the striking Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East by the end of next week, the people said.
The breakthrough occurred Friday after two weeks of closed-door discussions between the sides. Even if approved by leaders of the guilds, a deal would require ratification by a majority of the more than 10,000 active guild members.
Writers walked out on Nov. 5 after failing to reach a new contract with producers in months of difficult bargaining. Talks resumed briefly in December, but quickly broke off again. The latest round of talks came more than two weeks ago in the wake of a tentative contract agreement between producers and the Directors Guild of America.
That deal confronted many of the same issues that have troubled writers — including difficult questions related to pay for digital distribution of shows and movies — and paved the way for Friday’s movement toward a deal.
A final sticking point had been compensation for ad-supported television programs that are streamed over the Internet after their initial broadcast. Companies were seeking a period during which they could stream such shows without paying a residual, and wanted to peg payments for a year of streaming at the $1,200 level established in the directors’ contract. Writers were seeking 1.2 percent of the distributors’ revenue from such streams, to ensure they would participate in any revenue gold mine discovered on the Web. How that issue was finally resolved in the informal talks remained unclear.
The talks were made particularly difficult by strong cross-currents within the guilds. Some members favored a rapid settlement along lines established by the directors, whose tentative deal made large gains in the area of digital media, but stipulated that new media pay schedules could not be regarded as final, because the markets are still not mature. Other writers argued that a much bigger step was required immediately.
The informal sessions involved on the company side Robert A. Iger, chief executive of the Walt Disney Company; Peter Chernin, president of the News Corporation; Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS Corp.
Writers were represented by Patric M. Verrone, the president of the West Coast guild; David J. Young, its executive director; and John Bowman, who headed the guilds’ negotiating committee. Alan Wertheimer, a prominent entertainment attorney, also worked with the writers.
Even if the writers and producers hammer out a final agreement, there’s no guarantee that there will be an end to the labor strife in Hollywood. The companies’ current contract with actors expires on June 30, and leaders of the Screen Actors Guild — a staunch ally of writers throughout their strike — have said they did not expect to begin negotiations early.
But the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which shares many members with the screen actors guild and traditionally has negotiated jointly with it, appears likely to start bargaining soon with companies on its own.
A spokeswoman for the Screen Actors Guild declined to comment on the writers talks, or the possibility her union might also start negotiating in coming weeks.
The writers walkout has not fully shut down Hollywood. But it stopped the production of dozens of television series, ended development work on future feature films, and created bitter divisions within the entertainment world.
One of the sorest points has been whether the 80th Academy Awards show, scheduled for Feb. 24, will proceed with its usual complement of stars, and without pickets. A rapid agreement between writers would clear the way for the ceremony, perhaps pointing again toward normality in an industry that has seen little of it lately.
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Post by PiperxoxLeo on Feb 3, 2008 22:41:55 GMT 10
As Amanda said, there is a thread for this topic. I will lock this thread. :=]
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